What Is Xrpl and Its Key Features

XRP Ledger, commonly referred to as XRPL, is a distributed ledger technology developed by Jed McCaleb and David Schwartz in 2012. It's an open-source protocol that allows for the creation of custom assets and smart contracts.

XRPL uses a unique consensus algorithm called the Hashgraph algorithm, which is designed to be energy-efficient and scalable. This allows for faster transaction processing times compared to other blockchain technologies.

One of the key features of XRPL is its ability to process a high volume of transactions per second, making it an attractive solution for use cases that require high throughput. XRPL can process up to 1,500 transactions per second, making it one of the fastest blockchain technologies available.

XRPL is also known for its low latency, with transaction settlement times typically taking around 2-5 seconds. This makes it an attractive solution for use cases that require fast and reliable transaction processing.

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XRPL is one of the leading payment cryptocurrencies and ranks among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Ripple's XRP token is used as a bridge currency for foreign exchange transactions, making it a very attractive option for financial institutions in global payments.

Transactions on XRPL require only 3-5 seconds, compared to Bitcoin's 10 minutes, thanks to its quorum-based consensus protocol.

This speed and efficiency make XRPL a more cost-effective and less energy-intensive option than Bitcoin.

Here's a quick comparison of XRP and Bitcoin:

XRPL has a total supply of 100 billion tokens, which is a pre-mined amount.

The Ledger is a crucial component of the XRP Ledger, enabling fast, secure, and low-cost transactions. It's a decentralized and open-source platform developed by Ripple, a blockchain technology company.

The XRPL operates on a consensus protocol that differs from traditional proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanisms. Transactions are validated by a network of independent validators who reach consensus every 3 to 5 seconds.

The XRP Ledger uses a quorum-based consensus method, known as RPCA (Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm). This allows a majority of validators to agree on a set of transactions, which are then validated and written to the blockchain.

Here are the ways XRP tokens were distributed:

The XRP Ledger peer-to-peer overlay network is characterized by a small-world network topology, featuring a tightly clustered structure and short paths between nodes.

The development of the XRP Ledger began in 2011 by engineers David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto, with a discussion initiated by McCaleb on a public discussion board.

Ripple, the original name of the project, was an open-source project that started to take shape in 2011.

The unique consensus ledger was called the Ripple Consensus Ledger, and the transaction protocol was called the Ripple Transaction Protocol or RTXP.

The technology of the "XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol" was formally established in 2012.

Ashton Kutcher gifted a charity sponsored by Ellen DeGeneres $4 million in XRP in May 2018, which was noted at the time to be the "third most-valuable cryptocurrency on the market".

Ripple was first founded back in 2004 as RipplePay in Vancouver, Canada by Ryan Fugger as a way of securely moving money around the world.

The company was renamed OpenCoin in 2012, after Fugger sold it to Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz, who transformed the company into a digital currency network.

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The XRP Ledger is a remarkable public blockchain that operates on a unique consensus protocol, allowing for fast, secure, and low-cost transactions with the digital asset XRP.

The Ledger's consensus model is built on a core principle: a little trust goes a long way. This means that unlike Bitcoin's Proof of Work or Ethereum's Proof of Stake protocols, the XRP Ledger doesn't use mining or staking to validate transactions.

Each validator proposes what they deem to be the correct block containing new transactions, and they compare blocks every 3 to 6 seconds to reach consensus. If an 80% majority of validator nodes agree on the transactions and order, a consensus is achieved, and the block is added to the Ledger.

The XRP Ledger operates on a quorum-based consensus method, which allows a majority of validators to agree on a set of transactions. This agreed-upon version of the ledger entry is validated and written to the blockchain, and its contents can never change.

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The Ledger's peer-to-peer overlay network is characterized by a small-world network topology, featuring a tightly clustered structure and short paths between nodes. This platform uses much less electricity than Bitcoin, about as much electricity as it costs to run an email server.

Here's a breakdown of the XRP Ledger's inner workings:

In the XRP Ledger, a consensus is achieved when 80% of validator nodes agree on the transactions and order. This can happen in a few rounds, with each validator modifying their proposals to more closely match the other validators they trust on their UNLs.

The XRP Ledger's Unique Node List (UNL) is a list of nodes that the network deems trustworthy. Each participating node in the network is free to choose its own list of validators, which is called a Unique Node List, or UNL, that is specific to each node.

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The total supply of XRP is 100 billion, which was created and distributed to individuals and companies at the launch of XRPL.

Unlike other consensus mechanisms, nodes do not earn rewards for maintaining the correct version of the ledger.

XRP is used to provide liquidity for transactions on Ripple's Digital Payment Network, RippleNet, through their on-demand liquidity service.

This service allows customers to send funds without a pre-funded account, making international transactions more accessible.

A small fee in XRP is charged to complete transactions on the network, but it's minuscule compared to traditional international payment networks like SWIFT.

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XRPL is a highly useful blockchain network with numerous advantages. It's public and decentralized, making it immune to control by any single organization or individual, which enhances its trustworthiness and transparency.

One of the key factors contributing to XRPL's popularity is its affordability. Transactions often cost only a fraction of a cent, empowering un- and under-banked populations to access financial services.

XRPL's unique consensus mechanism obviates the need for energy-intensive mining, making it remarkably eco-friendly. As one of the pioneering carbon-neutral blockchains, it significantly reduces its environmental impact.

Here are some of the key advantages of XRPL:

XRPL's rapid transaction settlement times, taking mere seconds instead of several days, make it significantly faster than many other blockchains. This enhances user experience and utility, making it a valuable tool for financial transactions.

XRP differs from Bitcoin in several key ways. One of the main differences is how each network achieves consensus, with Bitcoin using a Proof of Work model and XRP using a consensus protocol across participating nodes.

XRP is less energy intensive than Bitcoin, making it a more environmentally sustainable option. This is a significant advantage, especially for those concerned about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining.

Bitcoins are released into the network through mining, whereas XRP was pre-mined at launch. A smart contract controls the release of any future tokens on the XRP network.

XRP is an open-source project, but it was created and distributed by a privately-owned company. This is in contrast to Bitcoin, which is not owned by any one individual or organisation.

Related reading: Xrpl vs Xrp

Ripple's blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that allows for secure and transparent transactions.

It's a network of independent computers that work together to validate and record transactions, making it a decentralized system.

The XRP Ledger, which is the specific blockchain used by Ripple, uses a consensus protocol called the Ripple Protocol.

This protocol allows for fast and secure transactions, with the ability to process up to 1,500 transactions per second.

Ripple's network is also open-source, allowing developers to contribute to its development and create new applications on top of it.

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XRP's supply is unique because it was pre-mined at launch, with 100 billion tokens created. 80 billion of these tokens went to the Ripple Labs foundation.

The remaining 20 billion was kept by the three co-founders of the network. Regular sales by the Foundation, currently 1 billion XRP a month, and unscheduled sales from the co-founders make it hard to forecast the supply.

Ripple's speed is impressive, with transactions taking only 3 to 6 seconds to be sorted, agreed, and added to the blockchain. This is much faster than Bitcoin, which takes 10 minutes for a block to be solved.

Ripple's transaction cost is extremely low, requiring a minimum of 0.00001 XRP for a standard transaction, which is equivalent to 10 "drops", the smallest unit of XRP.

Transactions on Ripple are processed incredibly quickly, taking only 3 to 6 seconds to be sorted, agreed, and added to the blockchain, even for international payments.

The network can handle a massive 1,500 transactions per second, dwarfing Bitcoin's 7-10 transactions per second.

Ripple's unique consensus mechanism, XRPL Consensus, consumes far less energy than Bitcoin's mining process, making it a more energy-efficient option.

In contrast to Bitcoin, which takes 10 minutes for a block to be solved, Ripple's transactions are processed in a fraction of the time, with faster and cheaper authentication.

The XRP supply is a unique aspect of the Ripple network. XRP is pre-mined, with 100 billion tokens created at launch.

80 billion XRP went to the Ripple Labs foundation, which oversees the network and sells XRP periodically to fund the ecosystem. This process is ongoing, with 44.3 billion XRP currently held in the Ripple Escrow.

The remaining 20 billion XRP is held by the three co-founders of the network. They can sell these tokens at any time, adding unpredictability to the supply.

Regular sales by the Foundation make it challenging to forecast the supply of XRP. Currently, 1 billion XRP is released each month.